The Middle East's hospitality sector has registered a total of 96,694 rooms under construction in 302 projects, representing a 15.9 per cent increase in rooms being built compared with the same period in 2016.

According to the STR September 2017 Pipeline Report, the Middle East also recorded a 3.4 per cent increase in rooms under contract with 164,497 rooms in 574 hotel projects under construction for the month, according to Tradearabia news report.

Under contract data includes projects in the in-construction, final planning and planning stages but does not include projects in the unconfirmed stage.

The maximum number of hotels were seen in the upper upscale category, with 26,363 rooms in the under-construction segment and 42,606 rooms in the under-contract segment.

The STR report also highlighted the development in Africa, which reported 55,349 rooms in 299 projects under contract, a 2.7 per cent decrease compared with September 2016. The continent also recorded 27,096 rooms in 152 hotels under construction for the month, a 6.6 per cent decrease in year-over-year comparisons.

In the in-construction phase, Africa reported 27,096 rooms in 152 hotels. Based on number of rooms, that is a 6.6 per cent decrease in year-over-year comparisons.